For about 20 minutes of game time, it looked like this might be another one of those special nights inside Matthew Knight Arena.
The crowd of over 10,000 fans was rocking, and Dana Altman’s squad was playing about as well as we’d seen all season. The No. 7 UCLA Bruins were struggling to keep pace, and entered the half trailing. The Ducks were in a good spot, needing a win like this to get a bid into the NCAA Tournament.
And then the second half happened.
I’m not sure what Mick Cronin said to his Bruins at the break, but it certainly hit home. UCLA came out of the half on a 13-0 run, quickly taking the lead and growing it from there. Oregon’s offense turned to dust and the easy looks that N’Faly Dante was getting inside were no longer there.
In the end, it was a blowout loss for the Ducks that left the remainder of the season in question. Oregon has five games left, all against the bottom teams in the conference, but even if they manage to go undefeated through that stretch, it’s unclear whether or not that will be enough to get them into March Madness. For 20 minutes on Saturday night, it looked like they wouldn’t have to worry about that.
And then the second half happened.